"I think we can go as far as we want to go," freshman Aaron Harrison said. "We were preseason No. 1 and we can end up at the end of the season No. 1 as well."

The eighth-seeded Wildcats' ride from No. 1 to wherever the season eventually takes them continues Friday at Scottrade Center against the identically nicknamed No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The journey so far this season hasn't been easy to chart with five freshmen starters, which makes Kentucky (24-10) the youngest team in the field.

"Despite how the season went, now the real season begins," Willie Cauley-Stein said.

Kentucky was the SEC runner-up and lost back-to-back games to Arkansas to South Carolina.

But expectations never wane in Lexington.

"You're at Kentucky," coach John Calipari said. "That's part of it. You build it up so high it gives you a chance to start whacking at it."

The appearance in the tournament is the first for Calipari's team since it won it in 2012.

"I've been through a lot," senior Jarrod Polson said. "I've been through ups and downs, especially last season we had a really bad season. We're excited to be where we are."

The Wildcats aren't the only young team. Four Kansas State freshmen play at least 13 minutes per game, and two of them start with guard Marcus Foster leading the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game.

Kansas State's physicality will be matched by Kentucky's athleticism.

"We try to guard and we had to find an identity early," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. "We didn't have much strength or much size inside. We just kind of challenged the guys after the early struggles to become a good defensive team."

Kentucky players said beating Kansas State (20-12) would qualify as "shocking the world."

But they are hoping to make a few more surprises through the tournament.

"We can go as far as we want to," Harrison said. "As long as we fight and stay together, I think we have a good shot."